Liquid
by Mister Pineapple
Summary: (One-shot) The waves of the yesterday become today's foaming tide.


My computer is a jackass. 'Nuff said.

And I'd have to be a super jackass to take credit for creating Naruto and its respective characters.

- - - - -

He was told that his namesake had once been the last of their clan, until he had repopulated it, and that he should be proud to carry the name of such a prestigious ancestor.

He hated his name.

He couldn't really say when it started. Actually, the other had always been there for as long as he could remember.

It was everyone else who never noticed.

However, one of his earliest memories involved him seeing the other in the water.

He had wandered far into the garden, and discovered the pond that had sat on the edge of the manor property since the rebirth of the Uchiha family. Gawking in childish amazement, he had crept up to the side of the stoned-lined basin and peered into its liquid depths.

The other boy was there.

Tan skin and golden locks swayed in distortion whenever a passing fish created a ripple in the water. Eyes closed in relaxation, lips loosely closed, as if in sleep.

His first thought was 'angel'.

Thick lashes on dusky skin. Rosy lips just barely closed.

The dark-haired child leaned closer in mute fascination.

_ His hands, larger and stronger, but not adult, digging into a very awake blonde's throat. Eyes wide, ragged breath, but his own. The other boy stopped struggling, staring back at him in defeat. Brilliant blue. Acceptance. His mouth opened and closed, like a fish. Fluttery lids lowered._

Falling back with a cry, he turned, scrambled, tore away from the pond as fast as his baby legs and baby lungs could allow. Maybe even faster.

Reaching the house in record time, he quickly roused everyone from their afternoon slumber with cries of a drowned person. Leading them back to the pond, the adrenaline of surprise ebbed to confusion.

They saw nothing.

But the boy was so obviously there.

He even pointed, "See, right there! Right there!", which only resulted in the others holding conference in hushed whispers.

And as he stood in shock, wondering why they weren't pulling the drowned boy out or rescuing him, he stared down at the body floating just beneath the surface.

Unbidden words escaped from his lips:

"I'm sorry."

The sleeping eyes opened, paralyzing him in electric blue.

And the world went black.

The next thing he knew, he was staring up at his cracked and faded centuries-old bedroom ceiling. The sun was already down, judging from the soft light of the nearby desk lamp. Groggy, he soon became aware of the fact that he was not alone.

"Poor Sasuke, poor Sasuke..."

Trembling, he looked toward the direction the voices came from, relaxing only when his eyes landed on a group of his older female cousins. His family must have been extremely worried to allow the girls stay past their curfew. A pause in their chattering revealed a low hum of steady noise. The whole house was awake, the buzz of activity making his nerves tingle.

After a short time one of the gathered females noticed he was awake, and he was attacked with a flurry of questions until his parents had to forcibly remove everyone from the room. His nerves frazzled, he gratefully accepted a cup of warm milk and went back to sleep.

The next day his parents announced that he had suffered from over exposure to the sun and put the matter to rest. But he knew otherwise, and the others must have as well, because there was constant talk between the family over the events of THAT (as it was soon called) day. However, not a word was said in the presence of him or his parents.

He wanted to say something, but when he was finally allowed outside again, his other cousins shied away from him. It was as though whatever had happened to him might rub off on them...

But as much as he wanted to prove to everyone that he wasn't crazy or weakened by the sun, he could never bring himself to return to the cheery pond where it all started. The pond was real. He knew that much for sure. In fact, whenever he asked for more information about its history, his parents grew solemn and told him that it was built during the time of his namesake, and that was all they knew.

But exchanged glances between mother and father said otherwise.

Accepting his fate, he stopped asking questions and slowly became withdrawn as years passed and relatives still treated him with kid gloves. But the other boy, the one under the shallow waves of water, was always close to the surface of his mind. His aloofness worried his parents, who had no other child to direct their attention, and when his health began to decline, their worry became deep-rooted concern.

A skinny runt like him would never be a ninja, but that was the least of his family's concerns. Ninjas weren't as influential or necessary as they once were anyway.

A clan head must always be strong. That's why they named him Sasuke in the first place, in hopes that he would become as admirable as their patriarch. But when he turned twelve and the rings under his eyes deepened, and he spent more days in bed than out, and the doctor was always clucking his tongue in practiced sympathy, his father decided that something had to be done.

So not too long after his birthday, when all the remnants of his party that he hadn't even attended were finally cleaned up, Sasuke was summoned to his father's chambers. Worried, because he knew that his father knew he had faked sick to be excused from the festivities, he slowly made his way through the narrow passages and low overhangs of his home. It brought to mind the fact that when it was built, people were significantly shorter, and he soon found himself thinking about all the people that had passed through these very same halls.

His father called out to him, and with slight humiliation, he realized that he had passed his father's office while caught up in himself. His father didn't point it out, nor did he draw attention to the party. Instead, he led him out to the garden and down a path that was vaguely familiar.

With a horribly sinking feeling, Sasuke realized where his father was taking him.

Noticed only by his father, Sasuke's knees started to quiver, and as they drew nearer, shook steadily. Sweat started to bead on his brow, and, if it was possible, he grew even more pale than his poor health already allowed. Unconsciously, he leaned into his father for support. He would have bolted, but a firm and steady hand on his shoulder guided him to that terrible place.

Trembling, Sasuke kept his eyes to his feet. Hesitantly, he dared raise his vision, and was greeted by recently churned earth.

His father, in hopes of removing Sasuke's mysterious burden, had ordered the pond to be filled in.

Awed, surprised, and slightly disappointed, Sasuke stared at the jumble of dirt and stones that had once been tranquil and reflective. Hope quietly appeared within. He could forget now. Forget finding the other; forget what the older, other him had done; forget that face, skin, _eyes_...

But, as a new hope grew, it quickly died when he saw the other standing quietly from a corner of his eye.

Lacking his watery bed, the blonde angel stood awake for all the world to see. Jerking his gaze to his smiling father, Sasuke realized with cold shock that once again, he was the only one to see the youth.

Cold sadness and guilt flooded his senses, causing his legs to give out. He didn't notice, every sense trained on the blonde and what he might do.

'_**REVENGE!**' _Everything within him screamed, and oddly, he felt a sense of understanding. If vengeance was needed, then it would be done. Still in tune with the other boy, Sasuke barely noticed his anxious father throw his quaking body over his shoulders and carry him off.

This time, the other followed.

With the speed of his father carrying him, Sasuke soon found himself in bed with a thermometer sticking out of his mouth. His mother quickly drew the curtains to keep the harsh glare of the sun from his eyes and left the room to converse with her husband and the doctor.

The darkness of his room blanketed everything in its reach, but only seem to further enhance the blonde boys image. Details, unnoticed before, drew attention to themselves under his feverish gaze. Like the slight purple in the boy's eyes. Like the three scars on each side of his face.

A spiral came to his mind. Sasuke accredited that to the other boy's dizzying stare.

The other boy stepped beside his bed, reaching out for him. He wanted to flinch, but he was paralyzed and defenseless under the hypnotic gaze.

"You're going to kill me." Words that weren't his own but were.

The blonde smirked, his eyes crinkling shut, but said nothing. He placed his head on the dark-haired boy's forehead instead. If it were possible, the cool touch relaxed Sasuke, even though his nerves were still on edge and prepared.

"Are you here to kill me?" Sasuke asked. The other stepped back as the doctor barreled into the room along with his parents. Their gaze never broke as the physician examined Sasuke, his parents and doctor never once noticing the presence of the fifth person..

After a time, the doctor announced Sasuke was no worse off than he was during his last doctor's visit, and whatever malady had befallen him apparently cleared up as soon as it appeared. His relieved parents ushered the doctor out and allowed Sasuke his rest.

Under Sasuke's gaze, the blonde invader made himself at home, looking through his things and fiddling with his radio.

It was a wonder how Sasuke managed to fall asleep while his inescapable senses gripped themselves in anticipation of anything. But he managed to do it somehow.

_The blonde was smiling at him, more alive than anything, except it was in irritation. A pink-haired girl sat beside him, saying something that he ignored, and then the blonde broke in, saying something that annoyed him and infuriated her._ _A fight was declared, him facing the other boy, and he was preparing a scathing remark, a name on the tip of his tongue..._

His eyes opened, dawn just barely arrived. The blonde was leafing through a magazine, sitting beside his bed.

"Have you finally come to kill me?" His voice but not his voice asked.

The other flinched, tossing the magazine aside.

"Are you here for your revenge, Naruto?" A harshness that was never there before let its presence be known.

The boy's eyes were downcast, his gaze hesitant to look at him.

"...So you remember." He finally murmured. Sasuke didn't know how he knew that name, just like how he thought this quiet voice was uncharacteristic of Naruto. It frightened him, this foreign knowledge.

The two sat in contemplative silence as the sun quietly rose.

"What are you waiting for?" Sasuke snorted, something he never did.

"...I can't." Naruto finished quietly.

"What do you mean, dobe? I thought this was the chance you've ben waiting for."

"It was... but when I woke up, you weren't the same. I wanted to kill the old you, not the new you."

"I killed you! I strangled you and buried you and built a stupid pond over your grave and you don't even want revenge?!"

This time Naruto did grin, a huge smile that pulled at his face and wasn't friendly. A feral smile that was more threatening and harsh than anything else.

"And since when have I played by the books?" He laughed, his eyes saying something else. Incredulity filled Sasuke's mind, someone else's anger in his heart.

"I still hate you, y'know." Naruto smirked, his hands behind his head. "This family isn't you. This boy isn't you. At least, he's not you anymore. So why should I kill him? Kill them?"

"It's not the same as getting even with you." He murmured as an after thought.

"So you don't mind that I killed you to get strength to kill my brother?" The other voice growled disbelievingly.

Something flickered across the blonde's face, but he passed it off with a snort. "I most definitely hate you with all what used to be my heart. And I still plan on killing you, but not until he leaves this body and you become yourself again. But not a move until that happens." He flicked Sasuke's nose, his finger passing through as though made of vapor, but something in Sasuke stirred and moved restlessly.

"Hey kid," Naruto addressed him directly, not the other, "you and me, we're a lot alike. We have people who think they've already decided our destinies, but more than that, we both have something inside of us we have no choice but to keep. I have a monster-born sealed within, but you-" He frowned, sadness flittering through his frame.

"You have a monster-become in you."

Sasuke shivered at the implication of his words. The blonde jumped from his seat, energetic even in his ghostly form. Striding to the bedroom door, he stopped.

"Uchiha Sasuke, the day you become yourself is the day I get my revenge." He turned, shadows playing across his face, his eyes glowing in promise. "For your sake, pray that never happens."

And he faded from sight, but not from mind.

Sasuke continued his life. He grew neither stronger nor wasted away, his body keeping a regular balance of constant so-so health. He didn't exercise for fear of the other him gaining strength as well, and he took his medicine regularly to fight of the foreign emotions that sometimes flared up.

Once in a while he felt the blonde watching him, biding his time with a patience he'd never been known to have.

He knew that Naruto would get his vengeance in due time, so did the other him. But he wanted to live as long as possible, even if his health required he take one day at a time.

So he waited, preparing for his end.

And the other him waited, preparing to takeover.

And Naruto waited, plotting his revenge.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I hope, I hope, I hope, this isn't too confusing. And I hope, hope, hope, this sparks your imagination. That's why I left so many things in the air. Did the first Sasuke successfully kill Itachi? Will Sasuke-reincarnated keep the first Sasuke sealed within? Will Naruto's patience pay off?

I wouldn't even know how to continue if this fic was intended to scale multiple chapters, so one-shot it will be. Unless, of course, I get some stroke of genius that is completely uncharacteristic of me. But I honestly think it looks better as a one-shot that will keep you thinking.


End file.
